Too Much Control Over Trusts Cause Bad Tax Result.

The petitioner was a venture capitalist who had numerous start-up companies.  He had a Cayman Island insurer establish two variable life policies on elderly relatives of the petitioner where there was no fixed premium and no fixed benefit.  The petitioner put up the cash of approximately $700,000 to buy the policies through a grantor trust.  The cash could be invested in hedge funds and privately owned companies, and the policy income is not income to the petitioner if the petitioner did not direct the investments of the policies.  Here, all of the investments were in the petitioner's start-up companies and the evidence showed over 70,000 emails between the petitioner, his lawyer and the investment advisors.  One of the trust's was named "Jeff's Wallet" - the petitioner's first name was Jeff.  Via the investments, the petitioner generated about $12.3 million of wealth in eight years.  The court held that under the "investor control" doctrine of Rev. Rul. 82-54, 1982-1 C.B. 11, the petitioner was taxable on the income earned on the assets during the tax years in issue - amounting to about $1 million in tax.  Webber v. Comr., 144 T.C. No. 171 (2015).